


roadside stop

by spideywhiteys



Series: 365 Days of Naruto AUs [69]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ambiguous Relationships, Ambiguous location, Depression, Gen, Nagato POV, Ray of Sunshine Asura, diner au, nagato is very sad but trying, nagato's undisclosed roommates, the ootsutsuki might secretly be a crime syndicate family but who knows, yahiko is dead sorry lads
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:21:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29973159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spideywhiteys/pseuds/spideywhiteys
Summary: Nagato moves away from his rainy town after the death of one of his closest friends. In a tiny diner off an impossibly long interstate in the middle of nowhere, he learns how to put himself back together.
Relationships: Ootsutsuki Asura & Nagato
Series: 365 Days of Naruto AUs [69]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2086938
Kudos: 8





	roadside stop

**Author's Note:**

> Day 69: Diner AU / Nagato + Asura

A long stretch of road cuts through the earthy desert, occupied only by tumbleweeds, roadkill and a single diner. The sign is fluorescent and blinking; neon pinks, blues and reds. For all that they rarely see business in such a desolate location, the workers are still paid full wages and the diner never closes down.

Nagato has been working here for two months. 

The world he came from was cloudy skies, chilled air and rain. The move was tough, but he’d needed a change in his life after the death of one of his closest friends. Even now it feels like a gaping wound. Like it isn’t real. Whether the change of scenery is a good idea or not remains to be seen.

It’s hot here, the air dry and burning when he inhales. The sun is impossibly bright, hanging over his head and burning the back of his neck. His skin is pale and vulnerable, sickly in appearance compared to the tanned flesh of the other workers who’ve likely spent years in this part of the world. He’s not fond of the weather, might never grow accustomed to it. He enjoys the rain and the chill; likes to wrap himself in layers and watch the heavens collapse from the window, a steaming cup in hand. 

Here, he’s lucky that his air conditioner works, and the idea of consuming hot drinks seems criminal. A recipe for disaster and heat stroke.

The interstate goes on for miles and miles in each direction. It takes him almost an hour to get here every day, but he likes the quiet of the drive. It’s just him and the music, or the silence, and his thoughts. It’s calming. It’s a break from his excitable roommates. He knows they mean well, they’re trying to keep him from sliding back into depression. He’s grateful for them both, really, but sometimes he just wants to breathe.

When Nagato pulls into the half-paved parking lot of  _ Kaguya’s Diner, _ there’s only one other car present. An old, beat up looking sedan with a hula dancer ornament on the dash. Gaudy and bright, the face cartoonish and one of the arms chipped. There’s a story behind that, one that Nagato has probably been told but only half listened to.

It’s Asura’s car.

The other man works here in his downtime, as the business belongs to his family. Nagato is sure this Diner is running only because the Ootsutsuki family is rich and willing to toss their money around. He can’t prove it, but there’s something about the way they act…

Like they’re hiding something.

Asura is a bad liar, but even he knows when to keep his mouth shut. It just so happens he does it very obviously. That’s okay, though, Nagato doesn’t care to know their family secrets. He’s here for himself, not for them.

Asura is everything Nagato isn’t, and sometimes that can be tiring. Exhausting. Painful, even, because Asura is everything Yahiko was. Bright and joyous, kind and genuine. They have the same tan to their skin and while Asura’s eyes are darker, the same guileless expression lingers there. It’s like looking at his best friend all over again.

There are days when Nagato can’t stand the sight of him. 

The other man seems vaguely understanding, if a bit of an emotional bulldozer. Maybe it’s harder for him to read to room than others, but he always tries to give Nagato space on those days. Nagato appreciates that. 

“Hey — Oh! Nagato!” Asura greets when the redhead steps into the diner. The bell chimes twice and the door swings shut with a thump, closing out the oppressive heat.

Nagato nods. “Hey.”

It was only a ten second walk from his car to the door, but sweat had already gathered on his neck and is now rapidly cooling. Perhaps he really  _ should _ have chosen to move somewhere with a climate similar to the place he’d come from.

“It’s just gonna be us tonight, isn’t that great?!”

“Okay.” He nods, tossing his bag in the back room and throwing his apron over his head. It’s pale blue and looks rather nice paired with his scarlet locks, pale skin and purple eyes. He’s just glad it’s not green or orange — sorry, Naruto.

Asura seems to vibrate in his presence, his mouth moving a mile a minute. It’s just them in the Diner, and it’s unlikely they’ll get any customers at all. It’s rare enough that Nagato is more surprised at someone  _ coming in _ than the night being completely void of customers. An old TV hangs in the corner of the ceiling by the bar counter, the volume barely above a mumble and showing some inane story about school bus funding. 

The good thing about this job is that he can do whatever the hell he wants as long as the place is kept clean. He can even make as much food for himself as he wants. It’s encouraged, even. Asura has been teaching him how to cook, rather gleefully at that. He looks at Nagato with all the eagerness of a newborn puppy.

Sometimes he reminds Nagato of his cousin, Naruto. Just...less colorful. Taller, too. And older, obviously. 

He’s still talking even now, and Nagato tries, really tries, to pay attention. But sometimes he thinks that listening isn’t even the point. Asura just likes to talk. About anything and everything, even if it doesn’t have much meaning at all. He could be lonely, but Nagato feels like the last person to help with that.

“—so I told Indra that  _ of course _ I could do it! He didn’t believe me, obviously. Still doesn’t, I think. But it’s been going fine! Honestly, it’s not even that hard.” The man babbles, and Nagato thinks it’s about the new puppy he’d acquired and how his older brother, Indra, thought Asura wasn’t mature enough to handle another life even at age twenty-something. 

Nagato is a little on the fence when it comes to choosing a side. Asura is extremely caring and  _ mostly  _ considerate, but Indra is right to say the man acts like a child at times and can get distracted easily.

Still, Nagato hums at the right moments and listens with half an ear. One day he’ll be better. One day it won’t hurt as bad; though it will hurt forever, because that is grief. He’s working on it, still picking up the pieces of himself that had shattered under the strain of Yahiko’s death. And if he feels a little more whole and alive when Asura catches his eye and grins that wide, sunny grin of his — well, that’s nobody’s business but Nagato’s.


End file.
